Another Disappointment for Candelaria

By MICHAEL MARTINEZ

Published: July 9, 1988

In the late afternoon, before he walked to the mound to face the Kansas City Royals, John Candelaria sat in front of his dressing stall at Yankee Stadium and slowly unpacked the suitcase he had taken on the team's last trip. If he was disappointed about not being selected for next week's All-Star Game, Candelaria refused to acknowledge it.

He shrugged. He said that he could do nothing about it and that discussing the matter was irrelevant.

But he also might have wanted to prove he belonged. Last night, he almost did.

The Yankee left-hander was beaten by a pitch that was up and out of the strike zone. Bo Jackson hit it for an opposite-field three-run homer, and Mark Gubicza pitched the Royals to a 4-0 shutout of the Yankees in front of 34,038. First Shutout of Yanks

The loss prevented the Yankees from gaining ground on the Detroit Tigers, who have a three-game lead in the American League East. But they never seemed to have a chance against Gubicza, who demonstrated why he is going to the All-Star Game next Tuesday at Cincinnati with a 12-5 record. He handed the Yankees their first shutout of the season.

The Kansas City right-hander gave up just four hits and retired the last 15 batters of the game, 10 on ground balls, after Bobby Meacham's double to open the fifth.

The Yankees put four runners on base in each of the first two innings. But Gubicza prevented them from scoring on each occasion and permitted only one hit after the second. 'Hope for the Big Hit'

''I wasn't looking for it,'' he said of the shutout. ''I just wanted to keep us close and hope for the big hit. Bo came through.''

The Yankees faded almost on cue. They have lost 27 of 30 games in which they have trailed after six innings and are 0-26 when they trail after seven. They left six runners on base and have stranded 20 in their last two games.

''Sometimes, in the period before the All-Star Game, it's a tough time with the bats,'' Manager Lou Piniella said, ''but I'll tell you this: We could've played on a handball court tonight.''

Candelaria, who had pitched at least six innings in 12 of his 15 previous starts this season, gave up singles to Kevin Seitzer and Frank White before Jackson hit a two-strike pitch that was considerably out of the strike zone for his 11th homer. 'Shows How Strong Jackson Is'

''The ball was up and out,'' Piniella said. ''He wanted to make him chase a bad pitch, but it just goes to show you how strong Jackson is.''

''The pitch was where I wanted it,'' Candelaria said. ''There's no excuse here. He's a strong man. I'm only surprised he hit it that far.''

Candelaria brought a 9-4 record and a 2.74 earned run average into the game, but the numbers were not impressive enough to warrant selection to the American League All-Star squad.

The left-hander was coming off a commanding performance last Saturday in Chicago, when he held the White Sox to two hits and struck out 12 in a 4-0 victory. But his string of scoreless innings was stopped at 13.

It got worse for Candelaria, who did not make it out of the sixth. He had one out in the inning before Bobby Meacham, who was playing third base in place of the injured Mike Pagliarulo, threw away Danny Tartabull's ground ball for an error. Seitzer followed with a single before Candelaria was called for a balk, his second of the night and 11th of the season. After White lined a single to left to make the score 4-0, Piniella waved in Tim Stoddard, who used six pitches to strike out Jackson and Pat Tabler, ending the rally. Velarde Called Up

Concerned about the condition of Pagliarulo's strained right hamstring, the Yankees called up Randy Velarde from their Columbus affiliate yesterday as a backup infielder. To make room, Jay Buhner was sent down. Piniella said he would rest Pagliarulo in the final games before the All-Star break, although the left-handed hitter might pinch-hit.

Photos of Yankees' John Candelaria as he was battered by Kansas City; Royals' Bo Jackson being congratulated after three-run home run. (NYT/G. Paul Burnett)